Carlos Alcaraz is already in Brazil, where in the next few days he will play the ATP 500 Rio Open 2022 . A tournament to which the tennis player from El Palmar (Murcia) has a special affection, since it was his debut on the professional circuit two years ago. Then, with 16, he added his first victory in an ATP match after beating his compatriot Albert Ramos in a battle of more than three and a half hours. Juan Carlos Ferrero ‘s pupil reappears this week in the Brazilian tournament and he does so as a new man: ranked among the top 30 in the world and with an exciting season ahead of him.
On February 18, 2020, Carlos Alcaraz played his first match as a professional tennis player. The Murcian, then 16 years old, took the victory in an exciting match with fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos, whom he got rid of in three hours and 36 minutes of play with a final result of 7-6(2), 4-6 , 7-6(2). Alcaraz surprised the world for his precociousness and self-confidence. “ I always come with winning thoughts, I always think that I can win, play with whoever. If you don’t think you can win, you don’t have to go on the court”, he said after his victory against the Catalan, without caring about his rival’s seniority or that he was among the 50 best in the world.
In these two years, without a doubt, life has changed us all, but especially Carlos Alcaraz, who is now returning to Brazil, the place where he was born as a professional, and he does so as a well-known player on the circuit, in Next Gen champion quality and capable of beating a top-3 on his way to a Grand Slam quarterfinal. In that first game in Rio, the Murcian was barely ranked 406 , he played the tournament with an invitation and now he returns to the Brazilian city among the 30 best in the world.
Alcaraz has already tasted the clay in which the Rio Open is played and in which he will have to face rivals such as Matteo Berrettini, number 7 in the ATP and top seed in Brazil, Casper Ruud (8) , Diego Schwartzmann (13) or Pablo Carreño (16), among others. He and the Spaniard are not the only Spaniards in contention in said tournament, they also have the presence of Albert Ramos, Pedro Martínez, Andújar or Jaume Munar.
@alcarazcarlos03 has already hit a ball at Quadra Guga Kuerten 👀…
📸 Peter Wrede/Rio Open pic.twitter.com/QN1qnHjGS5
— Rio Open (@RioOpenOficial) February 10, 2022
Alcaraz’s schedule
After a great start to the season for Carlos Alcaraz , in which he reached the third round of the Australian Open – he fell in the fifth set against number 7 in the ATP, Matteo Berrettini -, the Murcian is now ready to debut in the next days on the clay of the Rio Open 2022 -from February 14 to 20-. Later, he is registered in the hard court tournament in Acapulco (Mexico) -from February 21 to 26- and in which he will coincide with tennis players of the stature of Rafa Nadal, Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas, among others.
After these tournaments, he will return to Spain to participate in the Davis Cup -March 4 and 5-, in which the Armada is playing against Romania for the ticket to enter the Davis Cup Finals 2022 and which will be his debut in the competition. After this appointment, the Murcian will travel to Indian Wells to play the first Masters 1000 of the season.
